Never mind sipping in the rain, in Seattle bourbon goes year-round. Versatile and complex, the distinctly American spirit flexes easily to adapt to its pairings. While in winter you can serve bourbon neat and sip on it for sustenance, come spring all it takes is a bit of mint and simple syrup and crushed ice…

Part of what makes Heartwood so special is the fundamental pairing program in place here. Since the beginning, Chef Varin Keokitvon and Beverage Director Amanda Reed have worked closely together to develop dishes and drinks that riff off each other—it’s food with drink, not food and drink. With a program like this, Reed has had…

Back in July, Beverage Director Amanda Reed had a rare opportunity to serve on a panel at Proof, the Washington distillers’ festival. When organizers put the event together they wanted presentations on “use the booze”—or how to utilize things already in the home bar. Reed, who last year shared the podium with Chef Varin Keokitvon…

Not just anyone gets the chance to batch more than 1,500 cocktails in one day at the world’s largest cocktail event, Tales of the Cocktail, but Heartwood Provisions bar team member Elias Shyne is not just anyone. He was one of just 40 bartenders called up as Tales of the Cocktail apprentice this July. He…

It has been said that Winston Churchill didn’t want vermouth added to his martini, just present in the same room. It seems vermouth has been very misunderstood. Vermouth, the French pronunciation of the German word wermut (wormwood) at it’s core, is an aromatized wine (infused with botanical) that is then fortified by adding a neural…

Inspiration for menu items at Heartwood Provisions comes from more than just the pairings and the seasons: For both our chef and Beverage Director, Amanda Reed, alike it also comes from travels. And when you win a Hennessey Cognac cocktail competition—as happened to Reed—and get sent to Cognac, France, you come back bubbling with ideas….